Who's the Hero
by AllThingsFantastic
Summary: What if Harry pushed Malfoy away from Buckbeak in the "The Prisoner of Azkaban"? Why would he? How will Draco react? Definite Harry/Malfoy pairing. If you don't like it don't read it.
1. Chapter 1

**I was trying to sleep a couple of nights ago when this thought just came to me, what if? This scene is one of the first I thought of and we'll see where it goes!**

**I do not own ****_Harry Potter _****or any of the characters or any of the settings or anything else associated with the amazing series. (Sad face…) ENJOY!**

Harry slid off of Buckbeak carefully to avoid messing up his feathers. Buckbeak reared up at something Malfoy said. Harry saw. Without hesitation he pushed Malfoy out of the way, Buckbeak's claws raking down the back of Harry's shoulder. Harry felt the pain rip through his back he tuned facing the beast and stood over Malfoy until Hagrid had calmed Buckbeak down enough to go eat his yummy dead ferret. Harry laughed at that thought, or at least tried to as the pain turned it into more of a whimper. He felt his knees give out and he collapsed into the arms of the person who he had just saved.

(ooo)

Malfoy was staring wide-eyed at Potter standing above him. Potter had pushed him out of the way and now he was sitting on the ground as Potter faced off with a hippogriff. Not ten minutes ago he had been making fun of him and the dementors, and yet Potter pushed him out of the way. In all honesty, Malfoy probably would have barely gotten a scratch. He watched as Potter stood guard even as his white shirt soaked with blood. He heard Potter whimper and watched as his knees gave out and he started to fall. Without thinking Malfoy moved closer, catching Potter before he hit the ground. Avoiding the scratches on his back Malfoy gently held him in his lap as Hagrid tried to calm Buckbeak.

"It's killed him." Malfoy breathed out, hoping no one could hear him. He heard Harry chuckle beneath him, and then groan in pain. Apparently someone had heard. Malfoy grinned at the irony the boy-who-lived could survive the killing curse but not a lousy hippogriff attack. Malfoy chuckled with Potter over the absurdity of it. He brushed Potter's hair away from his face and noticed that the boy had passed out.

"Hagrid! He needs to be taken to the hospital wing." Hermione cried out startling Malfoy who had completely forgotten about the rest of the class.

Malfoy hooked his arms carefully around Harry and stood up. Before he could move Hagrid bent down and scooped Harry into his own arms. Malfoy started to protest then saw the looks on the Slytherins' faces. He carefully turned his face into a sneer and strutted over to where everyone was waiting. Malfoy walked by Weasley then he had an idea. Turning back he glanced at the Slytherins now standing behind him.

"What was he thinking? Didn't he hear the oaf say hippogriffs were dangerous?" Malfoy heard the Slytherins laughing behind him and leaned in closer to the mudblood standing next to the now furious Weasley.

"Tell Harry I'm sorry. I didn't mean for him to get hurt." He whispered into her ear.

Then he pulled back and saw a confused look on her face. The others looked at him expectantly, "Looks like even Miss-Top-of-the-Class can't tell when she's being insulted."

He started walking back towards the others who decided to head back to the school. Glancing back he saw Granger was still standing there now with a scowl on her face. He whispered two words hoping she would understand and then headed off with his house.

(ooo)

Ron was furious, Hermione was in shock. They both watched as the Slytherins walked away before hurrying to the hospital wing. They spent every minute they could with Harry only leaving to go to class, as Hermione refused to let Ron skip. They went and sat by Harry after classes watching as he slept. Madame Pomfrey had given him something that helped to heal him but it made him sleep on and off until he was completely healed. Hermione thought about what Malfoy had said before walking away, she couldn't decide whether or not to tell Harry.

Ron's stomach started growling as soon as the food was set out in the Great Hall. Hermione grinned at him and told him to go eat, she would wait with Harry.

"But aren't you hungry too?" He asked as he stood up.

She smiled and shook her head. Ron shrugged as he turned and walked out of the hospital wing. Hermione thought about that morning. Malfoy had seemed sorry when he whispered in her ear, and again when he mouthed the words before he left with the rest of the group. But why would he be upset that Harry had gotten hurt? She shook her head, it didn't make any sense. Well it couldn't hurt to tell Harry and then at least she would have someone else to talk it over with. A course of action decided she pulled out her potions book, some parchment, ink, and a quill- she had an essay to write.

Not ten minutes later Harry groaned in his sleep and looked up at Hermione's expectant face. "Where am I?" He looked around, "Oh. Never mind." He fell back on the pillow.

Hermione watched as he struggled against the potion to stay awake and remember what had brought him here. She watched his eyes as his memories came back, he turned his head to look at her again.

"Is Malfoy okay?"

Hermione's mouth fell open. That was the last thing she had expected him to ask. "Um… Yeah, he's fine." She thought about it for a second, "Well I think so anyway. He might have hit his head when you pushed him out of the way."

Harry's eyes were worried, "What makes you say that? Is he in here?"

He tried to sit up before small hands pressed to his shoulders pushing him back against the bed. "Calm down. He's not in here, I was joking because of something he said."

Hermione was struggling to keep her voice calm when she saw how scared he was for Malfoy. Malfoy! She wondered if maybe they had both been hit by some kind of spell that altered their personalities, she seriously considered it when she noticed Harry staring up at her waiting for her to explain what she had meant.

She sighed, "Malfoy said to tell you that he was sorry. And that he never meant for you to get hurt. Then he apologized for insulting me as a cover up for the Slytherins who were watching him talk to me."

She watched as Harry smiled at that thought briefly, a light filling his eyes, before covering it up with a scowl. "Maybe next time he'll listen to Hagrid and we won't have to worry about this ever again."

It was too little, too late as far as Hermione was concerned. There was something going on between the two seekers, and she was going to find out what it was.

At that moment Madame Pomfrey walked in to check Harry's progress. She shooed Hermione off to bed saying she could come back in the morning if she wanted to, but Harry needed rest to heal. With a quick goodbye to Harry she packed up her homework and went to the common room to finish her essay before heading off to bed.

(ooo)

Harry was release from Madame Pomfrey's care with just enough time for breakfast before class. She had forbidden him from flying for the next few days while the muscles finished healing in his back and Harry couldn't believe it. This was the big Gryffindor v. Slytherin match! He couldn't be out this week. Madame Pomfrey had apparently guessed that was what he would be thinking. As he walked to the great hall he noticed Professor McGonagal carrying his broom and taking it to her office. He walked in and dropped into his seat between Ron and Hermione. Hermione guessed the problem and immediately started comforting him. Ron gave Harry a blank look.

"I'm banned from my broom until further notice." Ron's mouth fell open.

"They can't do that! It's the big match this week, McGonagal will talk to them."

Harry winced, "I just saw her. She confiscated my broom."

"Bloody Hell!"

"Ron!" Hermione snapped at him, "No need for that kind of language. Besides Harry has practiced enough that he should be able to practice the day before and still be in perfect condition for the 'big match'."

You could hear the quotes in her voice, but the boys didn't care. 'Mione was right it shouldn't be a problem, Harry would play with the team and show Malfoy and the rest of the team who were the best once and for all.

(ooo)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT PLAYING!" Harry stared at his teammates.

"Well we really can't have practice without you and expect you to just know the plays…"

"We want to do what's best for the team."

"I know you want to beat the Slytherins. It'll be good for the team and the house."

Harry took a deep breath, they had rehearsed this, chosen their words carefully.

"Alright then." They opened their mouths and closed them glancing at each other. Apparently Harry had thrown off their speech. "So who is it?" They stared blankly at him.

"Who. Is. Playing. Seeker?"

"Oh…"

"Er..."

"Um…"

"Well…"

"Oh for the love of…" A small body pushed their way out from behind the larger team members. "I am."

Harry stared at Ginny then nodded. "Keep the wind to your back it will make it easier to catch the snitch when you spot it." And with that Harry turned to walk up to the school.

(ooo)

The Weasley twins looked at each other. One was grinning the other had their mouth pinched closed.

"Come on Fred, hand it over." George told his brother.

Grumbling Fred handed over the bet and turned to look at the disbelieving team. "Oh please. Don't act surprised. We bet on everything and you know it." Fred shouldered his broom and walked towards the field.

With a unison shrug the team followed Fred towards the field. No one liked setting Harry on his own like that, but no one wanted to lose to Slytherin either. Harry understood they were sure he wanted them to win. No matter who was playing the game.

(ooo)

Harry walked towards the Gryffindor tower before realizing that everyone probably knew. He couldn't stand the looks on their faces, turning on his heal he walked in the opposite direction. He didn't know where he was going and, frankly, he didn't care. That wasn't important. He was the best seeker in the school, never lost a match in his life, and they kicked him off because he wouldn't be able to practice the whole week before. It's not like he needed to be on a broom. He could listen to the strategies, plan his own, watch the team, even help them out if they needed tips. But no they weren't letting him play.

He wasn't going to play in the match of the year, and it was all Malfoy's fault. Harry sighed and propped his shoulder up against the nearest stone wall. He ran his hand through his unruly hair before massaging his shoulder. That wasn't fair to Malfoy. It was Harry's fault, he was the one who decided to "play hero" once again and now he was paying for it. Glancing at the time he started to head back to the dorm, potions started soon and the last thing he wanted to do was loose points for being late.

**AN: Hey guys! I decided that a Potter fic would be fun to try, let me know if you want me to keep going with it. If you have any ideas for what should happen next let me know, I'm always looking for plot twists! Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. I got way more reviews than I expected. Thanks everybody! I hope you like this next chapter！Oh and I still don't own JK Rowling's characters...**

Harry came into the dungeon and took his seat with Ron and Hermione. The second he slipped into his seat the doors burst open and Snape came into the room. All of the Gryffindors grimaced, Snape was in a terrible mood if his angry strides and the slamming door meant anything they were in for losing a lot of points. Harry glanced across the dungeon to see Malfoy grinning at his favorite Professors entrance. Malfoy met Harry's glare and gave him an exaggerated wink before turning to look at the front of the classroom. Snape began his lecture and Harry dutifully wrote down every word, although he had no idea what exactly he was writing about. He figured Hermione would fill him in on the details later if he needed help. He absently began doodling in the corner of his notebook. The class ended and everyone began packing up Harry glanced at his notebook and blushed furiously when he saw that a dragon covered half of the page. He quickly ripped it out and shoved it in the bottom of his bag before chasing after Ron who was currently looking for a suddenly absent Hermione.

Draco had seen Harry's blush, not that he had been watching him or anything he just happened to notice. When Harry had shoved a piece of paper into the bottom of his bag Draco's curiosity had gotten the best of him and with a quick summoning charm he buried the piece of paper into his bag to be analyzed later. He hurried out of the dungeons before Snape decided to talk to him, he may love the man but that didn't mean he wanted to talk to him. Draco hurried off to his dorm anxious for his free period. Meeting Pansy and Blaize in the common room the piece of paper was quickly forgotten in their intense game of who-does-Potter-think-he-is-anyway? And if Draco was less active than usual it was because he was thinking about his upcoming test in Ancient Runes, or so he told Blaize.

Draco hurried off to class and ran into Hermione in the doorway of their classroom. With a small sneer he pushed her aside and settled into a desk, he looked up in shock when Granger sat down next to him.

"What are you doing, Granger?"

She didn't answer him and began unpacking her supplies for the class. Draco faced a dilemma he could get up and move proving that Granger was forcing him to do something, or he could sit here pretending that he wasn't bothered by sitting next to a mudblood. He chewed it over before deciding to stay, he could annoy her as an excuse for him staying. He waited until she had unpacked all of her things before writing on a slip of paper large enough for her to read 'Can't get enough of me?' She reached for his parchment and he pulled it out of her reach. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her own, 'Whatever helps you sleep at night.' Draco leaned an inch closer to her before stage whispering in her ear.

"Granger as sexy as I am, I don't think that is an appropriate classroom discussion." There were several snickers around them and he watched Granger to red as she quickly leaned away. "Besides I couldn't bear the thought of sinking to _your_ level."

She looked back at him with a very Slytherin smirk, "What do you know Malfoy, I was thinking the same thing." A few members of their audience gasped.

"Good to hear that you have finally accepted your place in society."

She turned to say something back but was stopped by the entrance of their Professor. He held a finger up to his lips before turning back to the front, pleased to have gotten in the last word. About five minutes into class he felt Granger kick his foot. He glanced at her in shock, he couldn't believe she would resort to violence in the middle of class. She rolled her eyes at his expression then quickly looked down at her parchment. He followed her gaze.

In her neat handwriting was the one question he had asked himself over and over, 'Did you mean what you said?' He shrugged at her but before he could look away she pushed the parchment closer to him. With a sigh he wrote his response, 'Yeah, I guess so.' She seemed content with his answer and quickly removed the two sentences with a wave of her wand. As soon as the class ended she turned on him. When he put all of his stuff back in his bag she grabbed the sleeve of his robes and dragged him into the hallway. His friends looked at him in surprise.

"She can't keep her hands off of me, and won't take the hint." He said with a smirk and a shrug. He heard Granger's growl over the laughter of his friends.

She dragged him into an empty corridor before pushing him into an abandoned classroom. "Oi! What is wrong with you?!"

She glared at him. "What can I say? I just can't keep my hands off of you."

"Hey I didn't have much of a choice! It was either that or face the embarrassment of being thought of in connection with _you!_"

"Subtle Malfoy." She glanced at her watch, "Okay here's the thing. You need to talk to Harry yourself."

Malfoy couldn't help grimacing at the thought. "And what exactly would I say to him, huh?"

"'I'm sorry' sounds like a decent way to start…" She said without sympathy.

"I can't exactly be seen chatting with Potter. I told you. You tell him. And no awkward encounters." He tried to move past her, she reached out a hand to stop him.

"You too really need to talk in person. I have experience in this thing. You do not want me playing owl for the two of you."

Draco had no idea what she was talking about and told her so.

"Oh for goodness sake. Just talk to him, okay?"

And without waiting for an answer she turned and walked out of the door.

Harry found himself sitting between his two best friends at dinner. They were trying to talk to him but he couldn't focus. He went to throw out the doodle after Transfiguration but he couldn't find it. He was trying not to think of the different people who could have found it. He comforted himself that not many people would make the connection between the drawing and his arch nemesis. His friends finally dragged him into the conversation that was pointedly not Quidditch which of course only served to remind him that he was also not Quidditch at the moment. An owl landed on the table in front of him a rare occurrence in itself and he sat staring at it confused until it softly nipped his hand to remind him of his letter. He gave it some of the food off of his plate and watched as it flew away. He looked at the familiar scrawl on the back and opted to wait until he was alone in his dorm to open it.

The meal finished quickly and Harry went with Hermione to the library so that she could again stay up until curfew working. Harry itched to open his letter, but didn't want to tell Hermione what was in it, so he waited. He thought about leaving Hermione, but last time she had fallen asleep here and woken the next morning with the print on half of her face. He resolutely waited until ten till curfew before telling her that they needed to go back. She nodded and began to close her book, reading until the cover closed over the sentences. With a sigh she packed up her stuff and pushed Harry back towards the common room, eager to finish the assignment.

Harry practically ran up the stairs to his dorm, he threw himself on the bed and yanked the curtains closed. He eagerly tore open the envelope.

"_Potter,_

_"Hermione told me that we need to talk about what happened earlier this week. If you want to talk meet me at the top of the Astronomy tower tonight at 9. I'll wait for one quarter hour._

_"DM"_

He read the message inside and groaned before he flopped back on the bed his arm over his eyes. Stupid Hermione. First she gets involved in his business and then she gets in the way of said business. He placed the note under his pillow with a sigh. Then thinking quickly he grabbed him invisibility cloak and ran to the Owlery. He penned a quick note to Malfoy before hurrying back to his dorm. The owl flew off and Harry hoped that Malfoy would understand, or at least be annoyed enough to confront him in person.

Draco stood at the top of the tower where he said he would meet Potter. It had been over an hour and no sign of him. He needed to get back to the dorm soon as curfew was approaching. Instead he settled back against the wall and watched the grounds. It was truly magnificent to look at. He glanced at his watch. He had officially broken curfew. He waited a few more minutes before turning back towards the castle. He reached out to let himself back in when an owl soared up and landed on the wall around the balcony. Curious he reached out to the bird and raised an eyebrow when it didn't fly away. In fact it hopped closer and held out a leg with a hastily tied letter on it. He grinned at the untidy scrawl that gave his name. Giving the owl a treat he had in his pocket he opened the letter postponing the inevitable detention that came with being in the corridors this late at night.

"_Malfoy,_

_"Hermione kept me in the library. Didn't get your message. I would like to talk. Same time, same place tomorrow? I'll wait this time._

_"Guess."_

Malfoy couldn't help the grin that covered his face as he read. Then the chuckle at the signature, only Potter would find that amusing. He tucked the letter inside his robes. His good mood building when he made it to his bed detention free. For some reason he was excited about meeting Potter. As that thought crossed his mind a frown crossed his face. He banished the thought and turned over to try and sleep. But he couldn't help the smile as he drifted off.

**As always all ideas are appreciated and reviews make me smile, good or bad. After all who can't use a dose of helpful critiques with a side of humility!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I am writing as fast as I can and hopefully I'll finish it. I realized this morning that the class schedules don't quite line up with what happened in the books, oops! Enjoy the story, characters and overall plotline owned by JK Rowling! Oh and there are implied homosexual tendencies in this chapter and all of them so if you don't like it please don't feel obligated to read.**

Harry got up early the next morning. He surprisingly managed to get a couple of hours of sleep, but not enough to make getting up easy. He was anxious about what would happen at breakfast. Would Malfoy make a scene? Would he just ignore Harry? Should Harry confront him? No.

Harry shook his head. Nothing good was going to come from confronting Malfoy early. He could make eye contact if Malfoy initiated it but otherwise he was just going to ignore him. With a plan set Harry got dressed and headed down to the common room to wait for Ron and Hermione to get ready. Hermione joined him about five minutes later and began ranting about a dream she had where she failed her Arithmacy test and Harry tuned her out instead thinking about what he would say to Malfoy that night. Hermione was still on her tangent when Ron showed up. Silently Harry stood and followed them to the Great Hall. Within seconds of walking in the door he realized that ignoring Malfoy wasn't going to work. He skimmed the Slytherin table automatically and slumped when he didn't see the blond haired boy among the rest of the green ties. He pulled Ron and Hermione to the opposite side of the table so that they would be able to see everyone who walked in the doors. Ron protested changing their seats while Hermione grinned knowingly and stated that change is healthy. Ron continued to grumble until food appeared in front of him. Harry absent mindedly filled his plate while staring at the doors. Hermione couldn't keep a smile off of her face when she noticed he started bouncing his leg under the table out of nerves.

She reached out and put a hand on his knee, "Harry." He glanced at her, "I'm guessing you two talked?"

He snorted "We would have, if I hadn't been in the library with you…"

"Who two would have talked?" Ron asked around a mouthful of food.

"Ron. Don't talk with your mouth full!" Hermione reprimanded. "What do you mean?"

"You remember that letter I got at dinner?" at Hermione's nod he continued, "It was an invite to talk last night at nine."

Hermione groaned, "I'm so sorry Harry! You could have opened it with me…"

"I didn't know that you were a part of it until I read the letter. Oh and next time mind your own business…" He said it with a smile to let her know he wasn't really mad then resumed staring at the door.

"I just wanted him to apologize to you about Buckbeak."

Harry glanced at Hermione in shock. A shock that quickly changed to hurt when Harry realized that he had misunderstood the reason behind the note that Malfoy had sent him. He quickly looked down at his plate and began bolting his food, he didn't want to be here when Malfoy showed up.

"I wonder-" Ron made a point of swallowing before he said anything with a glance at Hermione "-Wonder why he's in such a good mood…"

Harry followed Ron's gaze and immediately wished he hadn't. He watched as Malfoy walked with his friends over to their table and sat down so that he could watch the trio. He looked at Harry and winked. Harry immediately stood up and walked out of the Great Hall with a murmured excuse of forgetting something in his room. He paused outside the doors unsure of where to go. Finally he made up his mind. He was going flying.

He walked out to the quidditch field and found an old rickety broom in one of the closets. He knew he shouldn't but he needed to do something to get Malfoy out of his head. He mounted the broom and kicked off. He stayed low and began circling slowly around the stadium. Flying offered him a chance to think without being interrupted. He thought about Malfoy at first but that hurt too much to think about at the moment. He thought about school instead, his classes, his friends, his teachers, the house elves, the ghosts, and anything else that was not Malfoy. He thought about Quidditch and how he shouldn't even be on a broom much less alone and on one that wasn't even his. It was not fair of them to ban him from the one thing that he was good at especially seeing as this was the game that they were counting on to win this year.

He glanced at his watch and realized he was going to be late for History of Magic, not that the Professor would ever notice but you know. He placed the broom back in the closet and grabbing his bag ran up to the school. He made it just as Ron and Hermione slipped into the door. Listening to Professor Binns put the entire class to sleep. When class ended only Hermione had any idea what had been discussed. The rest of the day passed in a similar blur with Harry skipping lunch to avoid Malfoy for as long as possible. He walked with his two best friends to the greenhouses dragging his feet to postpone the stifling heat that came along with the humidity and light within Professor Sprout's domain. The class was a blur of Professor Sprout asking questions to which Hermione always raised her hand. No one else was bothering. It was too hot to care today.

Dinner came and Harry was starving. He dragged Hermione out of the library as soon as the food was served hoping to get in and out before Malfoy got there. He almost made it. Sitting on their usual side of the table Harry was just finishing his pumpkin juice when he saw the flash of blonde hair in the corner of his eye. Harry realized that he was trapped here unless he wanted to draw attention to the fact that he was avoiding Malfoy. He carefully sipped at his juice counting down until he figured he could leave without drawing attention to Malfoy.

Hermione was waiting for Harry to finish his juice when all of the sudden he sat up straighter and began staring at his now empty plate. She glanced towards the door and watched Malfoy walk in. Malfoy tried to subtly look down the Gryffindor table. When he saw Harry he stood up taller and practically strutted to his seat at the table. She shook her head with a smile. She doubted that Harry even knew that he liked Malfoy. And she was almost positive that Malfoy had no clue that he was somewhat attracted to Harry. This was going to be a long year unless those two actually sat down and talked. She decided to make sure they would get privacy on the Astronomy tower tonight.

Potter was in the Great Hall when Draco walked in. He was absent mindedly drinking his pumpkin juice and Draco watched as the brunette noticed him. Harry sat up straighter and looked determined to stay in his seat. Walking over to his table Draco sat down and thought about tonight staring holes in the back of Potter's head. He watched as Potter gave in and turned around to meet his gaze. His eyes looked anxious, like he was scared of what might happen simply by making eye-contact with him. Draco gave him a small smile before turning to talk to his fellow Slytherins, he filled in the gaps in the conversation but he had no idea what he was saying. His mind filled with thoughts of the Gryffindor sitting across the hall.

"Draco. Draco!" He looked up. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, your highness. Sorry if we're boring you." Blaize's voice was dripping sarcasm.

"Sorry man. I can't get my mind off Po-Quidditch." He mentally slapped himself. Definitely the smoothest recovery ever. _Not!_

"Yeah I noticed." Blaize smirked and glanced over at the Gryffindors.

Draco swallowed the newly formed lump in his throat. Blaize was his best mate but some things even friends like that can't ignore. Blaize simply smiled, winked, and turned back to the rest of their group. Draco gave up pretending like he was interested and dug into his food not really tasting any of it. He most definitely was not waiting for Potter to leave first. It's not like he was watching for the boy to get up and walk out. And he absolutely was not going to follow Potter out of the Hall. He waited two minutes before saying his goodbyes and heading off to the Astronomy Tower.

**Thanks to most of my reviews, I know it's not the best story but thanks for sticking with it and for the positive feedback. Keep them coming!**

**And in answer to one of the reviews I got, no offense taken and no I'm not gay. I'm just trying something different probably not very well but hey E for Effort!. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay I am trying to finish this up, but seeing as I don't really know what's going to happen next I have no idea when it'll wrap itself up. Anyways wish me luck and enjoy the story!**

**Still don't own these characters *cries loudly***

Harry finally couldn't take it anymore. All he could think about was Malfoy across the room laughing with his friends while all he all but ignored Hermione. He was trying to listen to everything she was saying, but most of it just blurred itself out. He felt Malfoy staring at him and held out as long as he could. The desire to look at him became too much. He slowly turned his head to see the blonde on the other side of the room. Their eyes locked, his heart stopped. Malfoy's triumphant smirk wavered and Harry realized that his worry about tonight was showing clearly on his face. But he couldn't look away. His heart stuttered back to life as Malfoy smiled at him. Harry's answering smile was met by the back of Malfoy's head while he turned to talk to the Slytherins. He felt Hermione shake his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Forget it. I'll talk, you pretend to listen."

Harry nodded to whatever Hermione said. He heard he laugh but didn't acknowledge it, preferring to think about what _exactly_ that smile had meant. Surely that meant he was going to meet him tonight. Right? Maybe it was a pity smile. No. If he wasn't coming he would have sneered or just ignored him entirely. Malfoy was coming. Malfoy was _coming._ All of the sudden Harry went into a small panic attack, what was he going to say. Malfoy was going to meet him right? So maybe he should let Malfoy worry about what they were going to say. Should he mention the Quidditch match? He shook his head. Too many thoughts not near enough brain. Belatedly he realized that Hermione had stopped talking. He saw her smile out of the corner of his eye. He stood up and told her he was going to go change before the meeting. She nodded in understanding. Harry didn't realize she followed him until she grabbed his arm as he began walking up the grand stair case. He smiled at her and the walked arm in arm to the seventh floor.

Hermione had stopped rambling seeing if Harry would notice. She pulled his hand off of his now empty glass and watched as he still stared into space. Sighing she watched as he thought. The different emotions running over his face as he ran over all the possible reason for Malfoy's actions. A glance over her shoulder proved Malfoy was in a similar state. He guiltily looked over at them before looking back at Blaize. Blaize shared a look with her and grinned at their best friends. She blushed furiously and then rolled her eyes as Harry tried to take another bite of his chicken-that he had finished about five minutes ago. He finally seemed to realize that she had stopped talking. She smiled at him it was definitely sickly sweet the way he was obviously interested in the Slytherin. Sick because a) Malfoy b)Slytherin c)Malfoy d)proud pureblood and e) Malfoy. Sweet because… well because it was Harry. When he told her he was going to go she followed him out noticing that Malfoy watched Harry the entire way. She linked her arm through Harry's and grinned as he startled. He smiled back and they walked back to their common room.

Harry stood in the dorm he shared with the other third year boys. Hermione was watching as he was digging through his stuff trying to find something that looked nice without it being obvious. He had tried several different button ups but they looked almost formal. Eventually he turned to look at his best friend.

"Mione! Help please!" She took pity on him.

She found a deep red polo that she threw at him along with a pair of black jeans. She looked at him expectantly.

"Well try them on!"

He looked pointedly at the door. She responded by rolling her eyes and turning her back to him. Harry changed and cleared his throat. Hermione turned and grinned.

"Perfect!"

Malfoy looked at the time on his watch. He refused to go up to the tower until after 9:00 he was not going to look excited for this. It was 8:00. He collapsed against his bed and dropped his head into his hands. Well he needed to pick an outfit out. Not that he cared what the boy who lived thought. He dug through his closet twice and finally decided on a simple long sleeved gray t-shirt and black pants. He decided that a quick shower was in order. He hopped in and spent a great deal of time lathering and rinsing his hair, before standing under the spray thinking about tonight. He reluctantly turned off the warm spray and toweled dry. He glanced at his watch. With a startled cry he scrambled to get dressed. It was 9:20. He pulled on the clothes he had picked out and ran through the school. Sure it may have been after curfew but he had to see Potter. He didn't have a good excuse for being late.

A record breaking two minutes later he was panting outside the door. He wasn't sure if Potter would have waited for him or not. Cautiously he leaned against the door which opened slowly and silently into an empty room. He stepped inside the room and groaned falling back against the cold hard wall. He should have known better. He could never get ready to go in an hour. At that moment he heard something being thrown against a wall. And the splinter of wood as whatever it was hit the ground. Standing Draco followed the noises out to the balcony where they could watch the stars. He watched as Potter fixed the chair that he had thrown against the wall. Then as soon as the magic faded away, he picked it up and threw it again. Draco flinched at the pain on Potter's face. Apparently he thought Draco wasn't going to show. Deciding that now would be a good time to show himself, he stepped out of the doorway and cleared his throat.

Harry had finished repairing the chair, for the-god-knows-how-many and last time. When he heard the throat clear behind him and spun around and promptly fell on his butt. When he saw the blonde who was standing in the doorway he froze and felt anger replace his embarrassment.

"Bugger off." He stood and shoved past the body in his way and into the tower itself.

"Potter." Harry froze and turned against his better judgment he saw the boy who he had been so mad at now looking nervously at Harry.

"Yeah?"

Malfoy swallowed convulsively. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was taking a shower I got distracted. I do want to talk to you."

Harry didn't move, didn't speak. He was not sure how to respond to the Slytherin in front of him.

"Please?"

Harry felt his jaw fall open and followed the other boy back out onto the terrace sitting in the chairs that were scattered across the balcony. Malfoy was watching him carefully.

"Alright. What did you want to talk about?"

Draco let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and relaxed.

"First of all, th-thank you for jumping in front of Buckbeak. Although it wasn't really necessary I do appreciate it. I know that it was a serious injury you took for me and I don't think I told you that before.

"Second. I'm sorry about tonight. I really do want to spend this time with you. And I am pretty sure I busted a lung trying to get up here." He watched Harry smile at that wanting to keep him smiling he continued, "And also sorry about the fact I'm going to beat you in Quidditch tomorrow."

Harry froze at once, his smile slipping, and stared at the confused Draco sitting in front of him. "Well as far as jumping in front of Buckbeak it wasn't that big of a deal and as you pointed out- not really necessary. But your welcome anyway. As far as you being late, don't worry about it. I was really mad at myself rather than at you. Besides it's better late than never, right?"

Draco waited for him to finish, still wondering what exactly he had said that had upset Potter.

Harry tried a smile that fell flat, "And Gryffindor is going to destroy you guys."

Draco still said nothing.

Harry gave in and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"

He made it into the tower and had a hand on the handle before Draco's hand settled on his shoulder. "Harry."

Harry turned around in shock hearing his name fall from those lips. "Yes, Draco?"

"I'm sorry that I mentioned Quidditch, I thought-"

Draco suddenly found himself shoved up against the wall. Harry was furious and Draco had no idea why.

"No you didn't think." Harry leaned closer to Draco. "You have no idea."

Draco started to breathe harder as he looked into Harry's green eyes. That grew larger as he leaned closer. Then all of the sudden Draco feels the hands release him and he sits on the floor where he had sat just minutes ago.

Harry opens the door and with a muttered "Sorry…," he disappears down the stairs.

**Well that chapter was surprisingly easy to write. Two chapters down tonight hope you guys enjoy. Next chapter will be the fallout and the big game. What will Draco do when he finds out? And don't forget those stinking dementors who manage to ruin everything…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay this chapter should cover the big game and the fallout of their conversation. DRAMA! And no ownership of JK Rowling's characters, settings, or plotlines…**

Draco came down to breakfast early. He hadn't slept all night wondering what he had said to upset Harry. The Quidditch comment didn't make sense. He and Harry always went back and forth with barbs about the sport they both loved. That he would have been so upset by it was outrageous. He knew he had dark circles under his eyes and his friends were going to wonder, part of the reason that he was up early on a game day. Usually he stayed in his room longer than usual to prove that he wasn't nervous, after all appearance is everything. When he walked in the tables were nearly empty. A few members of the Gryffindor team were there already in their uniforms and picking at their food while pretending to listen to Wood. He rolled his eyes.

He filled a plate and proceeded to push it around his plate. He knew he should eat. He hadn't been for the last few days, but the thought of eating was almost enough to turn his stomach. Harry was the only thing he thought about and upsetting him definitely put a dent in his appetite. He watched as the rest of the school came in for breakfast the Slytherin team trailing in later than most of the school. Their captain looked angry. It had started raining yesterday and it hadn't stopped last Draco had seen. It was going to be a wet game with low visibility. Just what they needed during the toughest game of the season.

Draco chanced a last look at the Gryffindor team before the rest of his team joined him. Still no sign of Harry. He picked at his food a little longer eating some toast and some pumpkin juice. He waited a socially correct amount of time before he got up and walked out of the Great Hall saying he needed to change into his Quidditch robes. On his way out he saw Harry on the grand staircase. Seeing Draco he blushed. Then Draco watched as Harry turned around and ran back up the staircase.

"Fine then." Draco muttered as he walked towards the dungeons.

Harry had nightmares all the time. Last night they were worse. Harry had spent half of the night tossing and turning. The star of his nightmares switched between Voldemort and Draco. Sometimes it was both. When he had a nightmare about the Quidditch game he gave up on sleep and sat in the common room until the rest of the house was up. He waited until he knew he would be almost too late to eat and make it down to the field.

He couldn't believe it. He had completely lost his temper with Malfoy. It could have been like Aunt Marge only he doubted Dumbledore would have let him off as easy as Fudge. And he really didn't want to deal with Snape's reaction, much less Professor McGonagall's. Draco was probably pissed at him. Harry had no idea how he was going to fix this. Plus he had to watch as each of the Gryffindor team walked out in uniform reminding him of the injury (which reminded him of Draco) and last night (also Draco).

He was late to breakfast he would barely have time for a quick bite before everyone headed down to the field. He turns down the staircase and who should he see if not the very center of his only difference being that this Draco had dark circles under his eyes. Harry frowned at that. He should be sleeping better, Harry knew how not getting enough sleep could affect a person. _Wait. Why do I care? Cause you care about him. _That thought caused him to blush. He did the first thing he thought of. He ran.

He opted out of breakfast but no way was he going to miss the match just because he was embarrassed by Dra-Malfoy. He walked down with the team and Hermione everyone wishing everyone else luck. Harry gave Ginny a few pointers on Malfoy's flying and flying in the rain. Then he and Hermione went to get seats up front so that they can see the whole field.

He watched as the two teams were introduced flying around the pitch before landing in formation on the field ready for the game. By the time the teams landed they were all soaked to the bone. Trying as hard as he could not to look at Malfoy he glanced around at everyone else. Ginny looked outrageously small compared to the rest of the team, especially as soaked as she was. The twins were smirking but were obviously freezing beneath their looks of confidence. He lost his inner battle then. Glancing over he watched Malfoy's eyes searched the stands undoubtedly searching for Harry. They passed him before flicking back. Making eye contact, his confusion clear through the sheet of pouring rain. Harry shrugged as he heard the sounds of Madame Hooch talking. He doubted anyone could understand her but as practiced as they mounted their brooms. Her shrill whistle pierced the rain and as one they kicked off.

Draco tried to listen to the pre-game speech. He really did. But he was too busy not thinking about Potter to really understand much of it. He picked up his broom with everyone else and they waited to fly out around the pitch. The rain was horrid. A solid wall of water as far as they could see. _I'm glad Harry is a good flyer._ No. He wasn't supposed to think about him. He was glad for the magical enhancements allowing the announcers voice to carry through the tunnel. He listened as the Slytherins were called out. Flying out last he glanced at the crowd. The rain was as awful as they feared. Within seconds his robes were full of water and he was sluggish on his broom. Maneuvering was going to be hard, sharp turns were probably going to be terrible. Finding the snitch we're talking impossible. He shook his hair out of his eyes and followed his team for a lap before landing gently trying to avoid the larger mud puddles. As soon as he dismounted he sank into the ground.

He couldn't hear the announcements from down here so he settled for watching as the team flew out. He counted 6 players and then watched as Harry flew out. Or it should have been Harry. Instead out came the youngest Weasley. She was just as experienced as her brothers but her size was making managing the wet broom ten times harder. He watched as she regained control and followed her team. Her robes were lighter than his which was going to make her just that much faster. However his broom was better. He couldn't help looking for Harry in the crowd, he wanted to know that Potter would at least be able to watch him whether he was playing or not. Speaking of- why wasn't he playing? It obviously wasn't because he was avoiding Draco. No way they would have been able to catch the girl up that fast. So this had to be at least five practices. She could fly and she was at all of the practices anyway so that wasn't a problem just getting on the broom and learning the plays and such. Come to think of it Gryffindor had gotten the pitch an awful lot this week. The Slytherins had thought it was because they were nervous, but this would make sense. He saw Potter. Standing next to who he assumed was Hermione. He wondered if his confusion was apparent. He watched as Potter shrugged. He mounted his broom when Hooch began talking, it was a good thing he knew the speech already. Not that he particularly listened to the "play nice rule" and with that thought Hooch blew the whistle and Malfoy kicked off. It was hard to get a good kick off in muddy ground. He got up a couple of inches and had to coax his broom higher. Finally he was high enough to see a lot of the field. He scanned the field back and forth keeping their temporary seeker in his sights.

He tried to listen to the score to keep track of the points. 10 points here and 10 points there he had no idea who scored much less the scores. Wood called a timeout after a Slytherin goal and Draco flew down to his team.

"What's the score?" He asked one of his team members

"80-60. Us."

_Well at least we're winning._ He listened to the instructions to end the game as soon as possible then kicked off ready to start at the whistle. He was flying around for a good twenty minutes before he saw the snitch for the first time. Taking off for it he saw the girl going towards it too. He pushed his broom harder and realized that he was going to beat her. He reached for the snitch his fingers started to close around it. Out of nowhere he was pulled back. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Ginny holding the bottom of his robes. Looking back the snitch was gone. He swore under his breath and watched as the Gryffindor flew away to the other end of the field.

Harry watched as the two seekers raced to catch the snitch. Just as Draco's hand was about to close around the snitch Ginny grabbed the back of his robes. Harry grinned, thinking how Draco would do the same thing if he thought he was going to lose. The score was now twenty points in Gryffindor favor, 110-90. He was watching Draco fly just above the crowd trying to find the snitch. He followed blonde's movements until something caused his heart to stop beating. Up there, above the students, as plain as day, was the Grim. Then Ginny spotted the snitch. Malfoy saw the red head's race towards the 150 points and laid flat along the broom racing against time to catch it. Harry watched in fascination as the boy turned into a blur flying across the sky. All of the sudden he felt cold creeping its way up his spine. All of the joy drained from his body. Glancing down he saw hundreds of dementors floating into the field. The one's closest were converging on him drawing him closer. He felt the floor give away, a woman screamed his name, and the world went black.

Hermione saw the dementors coming in their direction. She glanced over to mention it to Harry. He was frozen where he stood. His face was contorted as though experiencing all of the pain he had ever felt all over again. All of the sudden his face went lax. She watched as her best friend fainted in front of her eyes. His body falling over the safety rail and into thin air. She reached her hand out. Fingers brushing his robes as he slipped through her fingers.

"HARRY!"

"HARRY!"

Draco heard the voice through the rain. He turned his head and saw the small boy falling out of the stands and towards the ground. Without a thought he pulled his broom around and shot towards the unconscious body. Flying faster than he knew he could, passing surprised beaters and chasers. Flying past dementors without a second thought adrenaline cutting through the fear. Racing gravity on his mission to save the boy-who-lived. He was going too fast to stop. Fifty feet. Twenty feet. Almost there. He reached out his hand. Catching the boy around his waist Draco pulled back hard. Turning his broom and fighting the combined force of their weights he slowed them as much as he could. They hit the ground hard and rolled through the mud. Dumbledore's voice ripped through the rain and the dementors scattered. Draco watched as Potter's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Then he joined the boy in unconsciousness.

**I hope you all liked it! It was a little longer than I expected but I think it was fairly decent. Now the question is- What happens next!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to all of the reviews and views! I'm really enjoying writing this and I am so glad that you all enjoy reading it. No intentional copyright here everything that is JK Rowling's is all hers, I just like the story line!**

**Let the drama unfold!**

Harry woke up in the hospital wing to the sounds of his team whispering.

"Looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?"

"Peaky? What'd you expect he'd look like he fell thirty feet."

"Yeah, c'mon Ron. We'll walk you off the Astronomy Tower and see how you come out looking."

"Probably a right sight better than he normally does." Harry saw the entire team, minus Wood, standing at the foot of his bed. "What happened?"

"Dementors came into the game and you passed out." Ron spoke up from between Fred and George.

"Really? I meant the match. Who won?"

"Well… we did."

"Don't jump and down with joy. Try to contain yourself we're in public after all." Harry gave him a very sarcastic eye roll to emphasize his point.

Ginny spoke up from her perch next to Harry's hand, "Do you really not know what happened?" Her voice was pitifully small.

He reached out to grab her hand giving it a comforting squeeze. "Nope. I haven't got a clue. I remember the dementors and a woman screaming my name. And then Hermione screaming my name but after that- notta."

Ginny took a deep breath, "Well I caught the snitch. But according to everyone I shouldn't have." Harry looked at her his question on his face. "Malfoy was close enough to pass me and catch the snitch."

"But…" Harry prompted.

She looked at her brothers for help they all nodded to encourage her before setting themselves for some sort of explosion on Harry's part. Confused still he looked back at Ginny.

"Butheturnedhisbroomaroundandcaughtyouinsteadelsey ouwouldhavereallyhurtyourselfandhewouldhavecaughtt hesnitchyouprobablywouldntbelyinghereallcalmandsaf eitiswasntforhimbutnoonereallyunderstandswhyhewent foryouinsteadofthesnitchwhenhemorethanlikelywouldh avecaugthitand-"

Harry cut her off, putting his hand over her mouth. His draw dropped open, how on Earth had she managed to see all of that in one breath. Then he looked up at the rest of his team.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin seeker. Our enemy. Caught me when I fainted rather than catch the snitch?" His voice trailed off as he thought through the implications.

His team was similarly affected but for an entirely different reason.

"Bloody hell, mate. You're telling me you actually understood all of that?!"

Harry waved it off as unimportant. Then pushed himself up to a sitting position so that he could think about what this meant.

"Harry I'm so sorry that I didn't see you fall. I didn't even notice the dementors until after I caught the snitch. But that's no excuse and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."

Harry gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong. I know what it feels like to be on a broom remember? All you can hear is the blood pounding in your ears so don't sweat it, okay?"

Ginny gave a small watery smile and a nod before racing out of the hospital wing, not wanting everyone to see her crying.

Fred waited until the door closed before he turned back to Harry.

"I think that the rest of us wanted to apologize as well." Harry went to cut in but George held up his hand.

"He's right Harry. We don't have the excuse that Ginny did. Most of us were closer than Malfoy when the dementors showed up. Those of us who weren't looking at you did when Hermione screamed."

"We were all frozen watching as you fell over the railing."

"It was terrible. It was almost like we accepted that you were going to fall and there was nothing we could do about it."

"And the entire team –"

"Well not Wood cause he's pretty sure you did it on purpose to distract Malfoy, and he's pissed because you also distracted the rest of the team-

"Anyway!" Fred cut back in with a glare at his twin, "We all just wanted to say that we are sorry."

Harry smiled at his team not caring in the least. He was safe no harm done. Yeah it was awkward that Malfoy had save him but in the end it all worked out.

"Yeah. Sorry that Malfoy was the one to save you." Ron quickly managed to destroy the accepting state that Harry was in.

He turned to his best friend. "Get out."

The Weasley's all stared at him surprised by the venom in his voice.

Ron was flustered, "Harry its _Malfoy_. Your worst enemy, remember?! He-"

"-Saved my life? While you sat there watching me fall." Ron tried to defend himself but Harry kept talking, "I'm not holding it against you. I know what it's like to be in a life or death situation. I even understand the feeling of dementors in the air. The fact that Draco was able to overcome that is bloody well amazing. Ron, if you are going to let a few insults condemn him for saving my life then GET OUT!" His voice had risen in volume through the entire speech.

"You called him Draco." And with a hurt look Ron took off following the same path as Ginny.

Fred, George, and the so far silent Angelina stood staring at Harry.

Angelina looked at the twins. They were obviously in shock. Angelina was not sure whether it was because of what Harry had said or what Ron had said but in the end it didn't matter.

"I'm glad that you're okay, Harry. I do wish that one of the Gryffindor's had caught you, because you are going to be the center of gossip again and I don't think you are going to like the topic. You and Malfoy need to pick a story and stick to it before this gets really out of hand."

With that Angelina grabbed the two boys by their arms and dragged them out of the Hospital Wing.

Harry collapsed back against the bed trying to work out what it could mean for Malfoy to save him like that. To give up the game for him, Harry Potter, was not something Harry could see Malfoy doing. Harry came up with two possible reasons a) he was repaying Harry for jumping in front of Buckbeak or b) he was trying to get a rematch called on the Quidditch game. The second one sounded more likely but Harry found himself searching for another reason.

Madame Pomfrey had allowed him to stay in the hospital wing, the curtains still drawn around his bed for privacy's sake, because she knew he wouldn't get any rest once he walked through the doors. Harry gratefully sat on his bed eating his food, thinking about Malfoy for most of the day.

Hermione told him the rumors circling around school that night after dinner. The two Harry had come up with were mixed in with them. The two Harry hadn't thought of took him by surprise. One theory was that Harry and Draco were secretly really close friends. The other was that they were in a secret relationship. Hermione watched his face closely when she told him this. Harry blushed upon hearing them. He didn't know why. Neither of them was true, _or possible_, his stomach dropped at that thought. He talked with Hermione a little longer. But soon curfew approached and he asked Hermione to talk to Ron and Ginny, make sure they were okay.

Hermione nodded to his request she walked out of the curtains, accidentally leaving them wide open. Too tired to care he folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling trying to work out the details of the day both behind and in front of him. He sighed and began adjusting the pajamas he was in deciding to save all heavy thinking until tomorrow. Curfew was long gone and he needed sleep. It was then that he heard the small voice in the dark of the room.

"Harry?"

**So this chapter was going to contain the heartfelt conversation- but it was getting a lot longer than the other ones so I'm going to separate them out a little more. Please review it makes me one very happy writer, plus I get a whole bunch of really good ideas from you guys! Thanks again!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay here's the rest of the hospital wing scene. I claim no ownership to anything owned by J.K. Rowling.**

Turning Harry felt his heart stop as he looked at the blonde who had saved his life earlier that day. He looked extremely nervous and was fidgeting at the opening in the curtains. When Harry didn't answer him he turned to leave.

"Draco?" The boy froze and turned back to his fellow seeker. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry." The boy blurted.

Harry frowned, "For what?"

"For causing so much trouble."

Harry stared at him.

"I know that you don't want to be associated with me. Between the fact that your best friend is now mad at you and the fact that the entire school is talking about us," He shrugged, "I figure you are mad because of last night and because of earlier this week. Basically I think that we don't need this drama and that you would rather I left than talk about it."

Without another word Draco walked away. Harry sat there in shock as the Slytherin closed the curtains behind him walked away without looking back. Harry threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed. Ripping open the curtains he stumbled out into the room. He made it about three steps before his adrenaline faded away and he crashed to the floor. Draco was beside him in seconds helping him back to the bad, muttering the entire way about stupid Gryffindor's.

When Harry was back in the bed sitting up against the pillows Draco turned to leave again. He was seriously going to leave again. After Harry just collapsed trying to chase him down. He watched in shock as the blonde pulled the curtain back. As he stepped out Harry felt his anger grow. He was furious that the boy would just leave, without taking the chance to talk to him.

Draco was leaving the room for real this time. He didn't want to answer Harry's questions or face his accusing stare or listen to the boy thank him. He had passed the curtains when he heard the voice behind him.

"Are you kiddingme?!" Draco glanced over his shoulder to see Harry's anger written clearly on his face. "You do realize that I just got out of bed and collapsed in the middle of the room because I wanted talk to you before you left and we had to deal with all of the students who have apparently decided that this is the gossip of the year. I mean the Slytherin Prince gave up a Quidditch match to save the Boy-Who-Lived from a few broken bones and a concussion that Madam Pomfrey could have mended in a heartbeat. Have you even heard the rumors?! But no you would rather avoid me. Don't want to see me upset. Don't want me to ask 'why?' cause everyone else is and I doubt you even know. Don't want me to thank you." Draco was shocked at how easily the boy understood, "But you know what I want to thank you. I couldn't imagine getting kicked out of Quidditch because of another injury that kept me from playing. More importantly I just wanted to talk to you to see if you were okay cause apparently you hit the ground harder than I did. Madame Pomfrey told me that you left while her back was turned. _She _thought that you needed to stay longer to heal, _I _was fine to go as soon as I woke up." Harry paused and took a deep breathe looking back at Draco.

He gave a humorless laugh and laid back down covering his eyes with his arm.

"But you don't want to talk. You'd rather leave. Sorry to have lost my temper. Go ahead and leave. I'll say whatever you want me to say when people ask what's going on between us. Whatever." He probably assumed that Draco had started to walk away, because the next words were whispered into the air. "It's not like you want to be seen with me, think of your reputation."

At those words Draco's temper nearly cracked. He calmed himself with a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out he started to pull Harry's arm down. When Harry saw who it was, he quickly put his arm back, but not before Draco saw the tears running down the boy's face.

"Oh." Draco was in a state of shock.

"Yeah. Oh."

There was a pause.

"Look you don't have to stay. Forget what I said."

Instead of leaving Draco asked Potter a question, "Did you really ask Madame Pomfrey about me?"

Harry sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah the team told me you were banged up pretty bad, I was wondering why you weren't still here." He moved his arm away rubbing his eyes. "Actually she was livid when she realized you weren't here." Harry grinned.

"So definitely don't want to get caught?"

"Could be bad."

The sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes then Draco asked the first of two questions he was dying to ask.

"Why weren't you playing today?" He seriously had no idea.

Harry didn't answer just shrugged.

"Harry. Come on tell me."

Harry's shoulders drooped. "Fine but don't overreact okay?"

Draco looked at him expectantly.

"It's because Madame Pomfrey ordered me broom free for a week."

"Why?"

"Cause of my shoulder."

Draco thought about that, "You mean the shoulder that was injured when you jumped in front of me?"

Harry paused then slowly nodded.

"Bloody hell." Draco dropped his head into his hands. He was the reason that Potter hadn't played. He made Harry miss out on one of the few things he enjoyed in life. He had kept Potter from flying. Potter must be pissed at him. "I'm-"

"Don't." Harry said sharply, "Don't apologize. First off you're wrong. It's my fault I jumped in front of you, you didn't push me. Second, had I been playing I would have fallen from my broom and that could have been a hell of a lot worse. So do not apologize."

"Alright." He waited then grinned at Harry. "Sorry anyway."

"Ugh!" Harry glared at him but there was no menace behind it. Finally he gave a small smile.

Then Draco asked his second question, "Why?"

Harry looked at him, "Why what?"

"Why did you want to talk to me? And why did you ask Madame Pomfrey about me? Why did you defend me when Ron was against me? On the subject- why did you jump in front of that bloody hippogriff?!"

"Same reason. Apparently I care a little more than I thought." The answer was simple but it made Malfoy pause for a moment.

"Well aren't you going to ask me?"

"Ask what?"

"Why?"

"Oh. No."

"Why?" Harry smiled.

"Cause I don't care."

"Why?" Harry started chuckling.

"Cause I'm afraid of the answer."

Draco hesitated. "Why?"

Harry's laughing stopped and he locked eyes with Draco. "Because I bloody well hate the idea that you are going to say you did it to repay me. Or worse, because you wanted a bloody rematch."

"Ask."

"No."

"Fine." He took a breath. "You were right. I don't know why I did it. All I know is that I was catching up to the Weaslette and all of the sudden I heard someone scream your name. Before I could think about it I was racing towards you. Then we were on the ground and I was waiting to see your breath."

Harry thought about that then nodded understanding. "Same thing when I jumped in front of Buckbeak. I just did it."

Draco nodded then sat there thinking.

"So. What's the story that you are telling everyone?"

Draco shrugged, "Don't know, mostly avoiding the subject."

"Have you heard some of the ideas?"

"Yep, there's one going around that you Imperiused me to get me to keep you safe."

"Hermione told me one says you thought I was someone else and that's why you passed out."

They kept telling different theories each more outrageous than the last until both boys were doubled over laughing. Eventually they settled into talking about life in general. He was surprised to find himself telling Harry about his parents and his home life. He found himself telling Harry things Blaise didn't even know about him. Then he listened to Harry talk about growing up with his only living family. Then coming into the wizarding world and being overwhelmed by people who expected him to be perfect, who saw him as a hero. For a boy who had been called nothing all of his life it was difficult to say the least. He found himself outrageously angry at the family that abused the little kid. Sure he had been abused but it had been mostly physical and only when he actually messed up. Harry had been starved, insulted, and belittled because of his blood, because his parents thought him a freak. He finally understood why Harry was a supporter for muggle borns. It was because he had been on the other side of the treatment. And probably why he had refused to become his friend in the first year. Then Harry revealed what the sorting hat had told him. Draco could understand the boy's reaction although he couldn't help but wish that he had been put in Slytherin.

Harry found himself talking to the boy whose friendship he had turned down years ago. They talked about everything and eventually settled on their home lives. They had more in common than he thought. He understood to an extent the actions of his aunt and uncle. After all they believed him to be unnatural and were trying to "cure" him of his magic. But Draco's parents would beat him simply to make him act like they thought he should. It was an awful thought. He told Draco about his experiences coming into the wizarding world and saw the boy's eyes as understanding dawned. That was why he had refused his friendship because he had enough of people putting others down because of their family. He even told Draco his big secret, one that even Ron and Hermione didn't know. That he was supposed to have been sorted into Slytherin. He watched the blondes disappointment but was glad that the boy said nothing and let him continue his story.

Eventually the boys found themselves lying side by side on the thin mattress arms pressed together to keep from falling off. They talked into the early hours of the morning when they ran out of stories to tell they lay in silence. Both boys drifted off to sleep.

The suns first rays shined on a raven haired boy wrapped firmly in the arms of his new blonde friend. And that was how they were left hidden behind a curtain until Madame Pomfrey found them. With a small smile she muttered a rousing spell, waking the blonde and allowing him to slip off believing he had gone unnoticed.

**I know not the ending some of you were hoping for. But let's be honest their like thirteen, give them some time. Please review and talk to me! It makes writing so much easier when I have a goal in mind! Thanks everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so I warned everyone about NaNoWriMo this month and I am ****_really_**** sorry that I started this story to get caught over that month, I'll try to update. Anyway wish I owned Potter and world but I don't so…yeah.**

Harry woke up the next morning to an empty bed and sighed as he realized Draco had slipped off in the night. He should have expected it, he had, but it still left him feeling disappointed. He shrugged his off his robe and his melancholy deciding to make today a good day. Madame Pomfrey had left him some chocolate which Harry eagerly bit into. Pushing back the curtains he saw his to best friends walk in to see him. He forced a smile but he couldn't help feeling that he would rather have scene Draco. After one night Draco knew more about his past than either Ron or Hermione he shook it off and went to great his friends. Madame Pomfrey gave him one last check and declared him able to leave. He jumped up and went to breakfast eager to see Draco and his reaction to seeing that Harry was okay. He slipped in and noticed that the blonde was not sitting at his usual place at the Slytherin table. He glanced around but apparently Draco hadn't arrived yet. His shoulders slumped slightly and he followed his friends to their usual seats.

Breakfast was almost over by the time Draco walked in. Harry watched as his new friend ignored him in favor of his own house. Draco squeezed in between Crabbe and Goyle and began grabbing food. Draco took his first bite and at that moment a single question silenced the whole room.

Marcus Flint was looking directly at the youngest member of his team. "So, why exactly did you give up the big match to save Harry Potter?"

To give Draco credit he froze for merely a second before swallowing and looking up at his captain. "What exactly would you like for me to say?"

"The truth."

"You know it's funny. People always say that, but they rarely like the answer."

"Now. Malfoy."

"Why do you even care?"

"Just tell me!"

Malfoy rose to his feet standing in front of the other boy. "What? That Potter and I are buddies?! Or that I was using it as blackmail? OR was I going for attention? Mayb-"

"Dammit! Just tell me why you-"

"No." Draco's voice was quiet.

"No? No?! No, you will tell me."

Draco looked at his captain, "I won't. Because frankly I don't know, and I doubt I would if I did, but I don't so I won't."

Flint looked at him like he was talking in parseltongue. Then he smirked. "You just wanted attention didn't you?"

No it was Draco's turn to look confused, "What are you talking about?"

"You were jealous that Potter always got attention, so you decided to save his life and become even more famous than him."

"Oh please. It was less than fifty feet, he may have broken bones but that's about it."

"But you had to save him, are you turning into a bloody Hufflepuff Malfoy. Are you a sad, loveable Huff-"

Flint was cut off as he was launched across the table by a fist to his nose.

Malfoy looked up in shock to see Flint lying across the table. He looked up to see who it was who had defended him and saw the Weasley twins. They stood flanking him and looked up at the giant Slytherin quidditch captain who had stood up and was now facing the twins.

Fred looked him up and down a grinned addressing his twin, "You know George, I think that Marky here is a little jealous of Malfoy."

"Oh definitely, I mean obviously he wants a little attention too."

"After all Malfoy faced fifteen dementors-"

"-I'd say closer to thirty dementors-"

"-caught a person in midair-"

"-with one hand on his broom-"

"-at a breakneck pace-"

"-pulled out of a dive-"

"-saving himself and said person-"

"-from smashing into the ground-"

"-and all he has to show for it-"

"-are some grass stains."

The entire hall had listened to the speech and those not used to the twin speak had their hands pressed onto their heads trying to stop the headache. Malfoy's jaw was on the ground. The Weasley twins were standing up for him against Marcus Flint. Eyes were flashing dangerously, as he tried to figure out which twin he should punch first.

Harry listened to the exchange, he gaze met Draco's. The boy was in shock and obviously night liking standing in between three boys all a good five inches taller than him.

"Fred? I think we hit a sore spot."

"Well isn't it our lucky day."

"I think we're confusing him Fred."

Malfoy looked at Harry for help. Harry tried to figure out a way to diffuse the situation without making it overly obvious. He stood and walked over to the confrontation.

"You think so George?"

"Perhaps."

"Maybe we should-"

"Guys knock it off." All eyes turned on Harry as he spoke.

"But Harry we're just trying to help one of the idiots-"

"Knock it off. _Malfoy_ can take care of himself." He tried to put as much venom behind his voice as he could.

"Why are you being like that? He-" Fred asked while George stared

"Proved his point. Poor kid was _embarrassed_ that I helped with his little hippogriff problem that he had to prove that he was a big kid."

"Figured it out did you _Potter_?" Malfoy's voice held just as much distaste as it possibly could. Although neither boy could hide the sadness in their eyes at the way they were treating their new friend.

"Well it wasn't that difficult. You know why? Its cause all you'll ever be is a stuck up git."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and turned to sit down as Harry walked away with the twins behind him. The twins were still confused, but decided to just go along with Harry. How could the boys turn on each other after saving the other's life? It was just too weird to understand.

"Hey Weasley's. Do you always do what the boy tells you? Is that why you live in a dumpy house with a dumpy mom? Cause Dad didn't know how to fight his own fights?" The twins kept their backs to him but they were vibrating in anger.

Flint looked at the table and grinned before delivering his final blow. "The only girl you can get to hang out with you is a filthy mudblood."

Harry glanced over at Hermione and saw tears in her eyes but was proud of her when she refused to let them fall. Turning he saw the twins pull back their arms in preparation to curse, hex, or jinx Flint. Before they could say a word another voice rang across the hall.

"Fifty points from Slytherin." McGonagall stared at Flint as his mouth dropped open, "that kind of talk is not allowed in Hogwart's. Perhaps you'll learn some respect when you are serving detention with me for the next week."

Marcus turned to his head of house, "Sir! You can't seriously be letting her-"

Snape cut him off, "Another fifty points. Slytherins do not beg."

The entire hall stared at Snape. Not only had he reprimanded his quidditch captain in front of the school, he had taken points for something so minor. Then he did something equally unexpected:

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, for Mr. Weasley's fighting."

A murmur went through the hall fifty points from his own house and only twenty from Gryffindor. Something was going on with that man.

"Is he sick?"

"Polyjuice?"

"Imperius?"

The whispers that went through the hall were finally about someone other than Harry. Strangely Harry did not notice. He shared a look with Malfoy. Both boys understood what had just happened. They could not let it show that they were friends after what they both said. Neither wanted to go back to being just enemies, after all that they had shared it was too much. Harry turned away from the Slytherins for the second time, instead of going to his usual seat he slipped unnoticed out of the hall. Unnoticed, that is with the exception of one blonde Slytherin.

Malfoy left his own seat several minutes later. He walked slowly through the halls of the school, nowhere in particular that he needed to be. He did not relish the idea of being Harry's enemy again. Not after all that the two had shared. Neither one of them had ever felt as comfortable with anyone else. Malfoy had never wanted to be someone for Harry to detest. It was just easier to hate him then try to be friends with him, especially with the Weasel and Granger always standing around the boy. He thought about how they could work things out. _Maybe we can still be friends._ Draco shook his head. Not after what the two of them had said in the Hall, besides people would think it was out of guilt and never really accept their friendship. They would be outsiders and he knew that Harry needed friends. With the life he had lead it was acceptable to be alone, something which Draco was going to change.

He found himself outside of the Astronomy tower and decided to head back to the common room before people started asking question. Then he heard muttering from the other side of the door.

"Stupid Malfoy. Stupid Gryffindor. Stupid Harry. Stupid, stupid Harry." He could he the smirk in the boy's voice, "To think I thought it was going to be easy. Just walk out of the hall one day and everyone would know and accept the fact that we're friends."

Draco felt his own mouth twist into a smirk, he had hoped for the same thing. Although he'd never tell him that. Draco opened the door and stepped inside of the tower.

"Asking for a bit of a miracle aren't you?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He slipped on something and went crashing to the floor, knocking over tables, telescopes, papers, and chairs in the process. He sat on the floor rubbing his head.

"Who the-? Malfoy?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

Draco doubled over laughing. "No. But had… had I known it would be…be this… this funny I would have." He gasped out between laughs.

He watched as Harry tried to keep a straight face. He failed, a small smile lifted one side of his mouth before he began to laugh along.

"Look who's trying to become a comedian?"

"Apparently I'm succeeding."

"Says who?"

"You. Judging by how hard you're laughing."

"That's just because I saw your face."

"You should have seen yours about ten seconds ago."

The banter died out along with the laughter as both boys quieted down.

Draco reached out a hand and pulled Harry to his feet. The two walked to the balcony and looked out across the grounds. Each distracted by their own thoughts they enjoyed a comfortable silence that was broken by Harry.

"What happens now?"

Draco rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, "I don't know."

"I can't go back to pretending to hate you."

"Pretending?" He watched as Harry blushed.

"You didn't hate me did you?"

"For a while, yeah. But after the attacks last year I realized that it was stupid to hate you out of spite." He looked down and noticed they were still holding hands. He pulled away quickly missing the hurt that flashed across Harry's face.

"So what do we do? We can't tell everyone we're best mates all of the sudden. They would have called us crazy before, and after dinner-"

"They'll think we've been cursed."

Harry had been standing in the Astronomy tower for the better part of an hour before Draco had marched in unannounced. He had been terrified that he and Draco were never going to get the chance to talk about everything that had happened. Then here he comes and what else could Harry do put fall on his arse making a complete and total fool out of himself in the process. The laughing had been cleansing, as had the banter, it was like nothing had changed. When Draco had helped him to his feet he was exceedingly glad that he hadn't let go of his hand. They were standing there talking about what they were going to do when Draco noticed and ripped his hand away. It hurt. Harry wasn't sure why he had liked holding Draco's hand and he wasn't going to think about it. He spoke before he could start thinking again.

"So what do we do? We can't tell everyone we're best mates all of the sudden. They would have called us crazy before, and after dinner-"

"They'll think we've been cursed."

Harry nodded. They continued to stare out over the grounds, watching as the sun began to set. This time it was Draco who broke the silence.

"Maybe we could keep it a secret for a couple of years…"

It sounded like he was talking to himself but Harry asked anyway, "How?"

"You know- meet secretly a couple of times a month. Randomly so no one would notice. Send letters to each other when we can't just to talk. Over the summer we could write as well, keeping in contact as much as possible."

"And when we meet in the halls?"

Draco shrugged, "A little spat, couple of jinxes, some name calling. Small stuff that our friends would look for if we were really fighting. Then we apologize in the next letter or meeting and we move on."

"I don't know." It sounded too good to be true to Harry.

"We could do it!" Draco was getting really excited about their secret friendship.

"Yeah, but for how long?"

"As long as we have to while we're in school."

"You sure you could lie to your friends for that long?"

"We wouldn't have to lie all the time. Maybe instead of sneaking out we try to get detention together. Or we exaggerate the time for a meeting with a professor." Harry still wasn't convinced.

"I do want to meet with you, I don't want to give this up." Draco smiled " But I don't want to give up Ron and Hermione either."

"Who said you would have to?"

"It would hurt them to do this behind their backs."

"Look if you don't want to still be friends just say it." Draco turned to walk away.

"No! Wait!" Harry grabbed his wrist and pulled him back he took a deep breath, "I'll figure out something to tell them."

Draco's smile was blinding when Harry agreed. "You mean it?"

Harry laughed and nodded.

Draco was practically jumping up and down with excitement. At that moment Harry decided that he would do anything to see Malfoy again, even at the risk of his two best friends.

Draco was shocked when Harry wasn't agreeing with him right away. He wasn't _hurt_ by it, of course not, he was just surprised. When Harry had changed his mind Draco couldn't contain his excitement, and behaved in a most un-Malfoy way until he calmed down enough to look out at the grounds again. It was so pass curfew.

"We gotta get going or we are going to get into loads of trouble" Draco was a little worried about would happen with Snape and Flint when he got back.

"Here I gotta show you something!" Harry eagerly dragged Draco across the floor and back inside the tower where he picked up a silvery cloak.

"Is this the invisibility cloak you mentioned?" Draco tried to keep the excitement out of his voice but more than likely failed.

"Yep! Come on I'll take you down to your common room then you can sneak in without being caught and then I'll head back to the Gryffindor rooms and no one will be the wiser for it."

Draco hesitated then gave into what he really wanted to do with a fake groan of surrender, "Alright, let's do it."

Harry showed up back inside his four poster that night with no one seeing him. He couldn't sleep though. Too many things were going through his mind. He couldn't help but remember all of the things that had happened with Draco this past year. He walked over to the window. There underneath the branches of the trees was Crookshanks something was behind him. When it came into view he couldn't help it, Harry gasped- The Grim.

**This one was especially long due to my fervent apologies at being unable to write for a while due to NaNoWriMo. Let me know if you want me to keep going or not cause I think this wraps it up well, I do have a couple more ideas if you guys want them. Read and Review Please!**


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